1) Chardonnay has little characters of its own and has to depend on foreign elements like oak cask.
2) The typical aromas like butterscotch, nuts, toasted bread, vanilla come not from the grapes but the various types of wood the wine is aged.
3) There are more than a thousand different aromas of Chardonnay available.
4) The variety is preferred by winemakers and growers alike because it is not climate fussy and will succumb to any vintner's tricks and blending. Ray
"Raymond" wrote in news:dajdma$5bq$ snipped-for-privacy@mawar.singnet.com.sg:
No
Yes and no
3) There are more than a thousand different aromas of Chardonnay
probably 4) The variety is preferred by winemakers and growers alike
NO, try growing Chardonnay in Florida This is my last response to you as I suspect your motives with two very intriguing but not very informed/informative posts in as many hours
Untrue. The Chardonnay grape usually shows a flavor profile of lemons, green apples, pineapple and/or other tropical fruits. It is generally regarded as one of the two great white grapes (with Riesling). For a good introduction to the flavors of the grape, try Chablis (usually aged in old oak that doesn't impart much flavor to the wine) where you will also often find a flavor reminiscent of stones.
Butterscotch, vanilla and toast most definitely (though toasty flavors can also arise from aging on the wine's lees). Nutty flavors usually arise from aging white wines, and I've found nutty flavors in wines that never saw any oak.
That's probably true for any wine grape.
Chardonnay is certainly far easier to grow than e.g. Pinot Noir, but to get top quality Chardonnay you need particular types of soil and a cool climate. As Mr. Coulter states, try to find a good Florida Chardonnay ;-) It is popular in part because it does make very good wine and it does withstand a lot of manipulation in the cellar.
Thanks for your reply guys. Timothy got the facts right. Majority of Chars have been dosed except some of the outstanding ones from Burgundy. The variety being so popular around the World partly because it responds very well to winemakers' manipulation, much better than say Riesling or Sav. Blanc. Apparently, there are more shoddy Chars made than other white varieties. Evidently, people are turning towards unwooded Chars for original taste and terroir. Ray
"Raymond" wrote in news:dalouf$hhi$ snipped-for-privacy@reader01.singnet.com.sg:
I wouldn't be so sure about that perhaps there are more liters/litres/gallons/barrels of chardonnay, but there are percentage wise a lot of fairly poor pinot grigots out there. One needs a good map to get around to the treasures in almost any varietal.
Timothy (and Mark et al), good points. One thing that needs to be emphasized is " well grown and made wine from Chardonnay and good ground does not need to be over oaked."
"Over" being the operative word. While I am a huge fan of some Chardonnays that see no oak (say Louis Michel's Chablises) or little or no new oak (Brun Beaujolais), I am also a fan of some white Burgundies that see plenty of oak - a category that includes pretty much every top
1er or GC. And for that matter I've quite enjoyed some rather oaky Californians (Kistler and Peter Michael).
Overoaking- especially of weaker juice- is a problem, but no oak is not the only answer.
I deliberately refrained from responding to this post immediately. Those here who know me are aware that I regard Chardonnay as the indisputable Queen of [white] grapes.
False. Although I'm not a big fan of unoaked Chardonnay, I occasionally indulge in the guilty pleasure of a nice Chablis. The good ones certainly have fruit - not to mention a sort of stony minerality. None of that comes from oak, because Chablis is usually not oaked.
Furthermore, I've found that one of the best times to taste barrel fermented Chardonnay is before it has gone dry. At that time, it has only seen a week or two's worth of oak; nothing significant from the quercus at that time - but the fruit flavors are lovely to behold.
Partially true. Some of that comes from the wood, but a lot comes from the fruit and the lees. The toasted bread is definitely a lees contribution.
Wait a minute! I thought your point was that Chardonnay doesn't really have much character of its own. You seem to be contradicting yourself.
That's a compound statement, and it requires two responses.
Although Chardonnay will grow in a variety of climates, it only produces really good wine quality fruit in cool climates. Santa Barbara County, Russian River, Carneros and Monterey for example in California. Forget Temecula, Central Valley, Paso Robles and even most of Napa. It's simply too hot there.
As for the second part, it is true that Chardonnay is a winemaker's grape because it can be made in so many different styles. Without getting into blending, one can take the same fruit and either gently whole cluster press and tank ferment - or crush, cold soak, press hard and barrel ferment and age on the lees. These radically different approaches will result in wines that are each very good in their own ways, but they will surely be vastly different.
Think of it this way:
Making Chardonnay is like carving balsa wood. The carver pretty much dictates the direction the blade goes.
Making red wines is more like carving hardwood. The carver has _some_ influence over the path of the blade, but he is much more strongly constrained by the grain of the wood than if he were carving balsa wood.
Isn't Anderson Valley in Mendocino County? I didn't mean to disparage by omission, but the truth is I've never been that far North in California, so I can't speak to that.
As for Westside Paso Chardonnay, I'm sure there are small patches of "sweet spots" that are appropriately cool enough for Burgundian varietals. I had a nice Pinot Noir a month or two ago from such a place in Paso (forgot the name though :^( ). I've also heard of niches in the Central Valley that have climate that's good for wine grapes. These are exceptions, however. I was speaking in a more general way.
Not _that_ close to the border, Max. From Gualala (which is at the border on the coast) it's about 90 minutes' drive to Philo in the heart of Anderson Valley's wine country. Of course, your point about the amount of CA north of there is spot on. Several of my friends up there take issue with the notion that the Bay Area is in No. Cal. at all.
"Mark Lipton" in news:qVdAe.143205$x96.111303@attbi_s72:
My dear professor Lipton, it depends on perspective. (As usual.) You chose one that maximizes the apparent separation. (Gualala also has no direct major road into the valley, affecting the driving time.) I too might despair of the distance, in 90 minutes.
My point is much more obvious, even by car, from the east, from Highway 101. There, access to the Anderson Valley begins as highway 128 at Cloverdale, within Sonoma County. (Incidentally the county border is further north there also.) Traversing northwest through the picturesque low hills that lead from 101 to the Anderson Valley, one passes almost immediately into southern Mendocino County. That county also is relatively long in the north-south direction (bordered at the northern extreme by Humboldt and Trinity). Boonville, the heart of the Anderson Valley (and near Philo), is about 15% into Mendocino County's north-south extent (by Gousha). Quod erat demonstrandum.
A very agreeable place to visit, irrespective of location.
I have never had a pinot noir from Paso Robles that I liked. However, chardonnay seems to do well. One of my favorite chardonnays from anywhere is Tablas Creek's "Antithesis". The hills on the Westside don't get as hot as the lowlands of Paso Robles and the soils are mostly limestone. I wouldn't say Paso Robles is ideal for chardonnay, but certainly one can make a very nice chardonnay from the region.
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